USCIRF Reiterates Calls for Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues

U.S. Government Cannot Allow China to Interfere in the Dalai Lama’s Succession

Washington D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) reiterates its call for the U.S. Department of State to swiftly appoint the Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues. On July 2, ahead of his 90th birthday, the Dalai Lama announced that his foundation, the Gaden Phodrang Trust, has the sole authority to select his successor, whom Tibetan Buddhists believe will be a reincarnation of the current Dalai Lama. The Chinese government, however, intends to select and install its own successor, arguing that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation must comply with Chinese law.

“Only religious communities have the right to determine and appoint their own spiritual leaders—free of government interference,” said Chair Vicky Hartzler. “The Chinese government’s arbitrary appointment of Tibetan Buddhist and other religious leaders directly contravenes international standards for freedom of religion or belief and must be universally condemned.”

The Chinese government severely represses Tibetan Buddhism. In 1995, authorities abducted Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama, and installed its own pick for the position. Chinese authorities in Tibet routinely detain and forcibly disappear monks and laypersons for religious activities honoring the Dalai Lama, listening to his teachings, or possessing his portraits, with many receiving lengthy prison sentences. Once imprisoned, individuals are reportedly subjected to political reeducation, torture, forced labor, and medical neglect.

“USCIRF urges the Trump administration to swiftly appoint the Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues at the State Department to keep the human rights situation of the Tibetan people a priority in U.S. foreign policy,” said Vice Chair Asif Mahmood. “This Special Coordinator is needed now more than ever given China’s ongoing efforts to violate the religious freedom of Tibetan Buddhists and interfere in the Dalai Lama’s plan for succession.”

In its 2025 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the State Department designate China as a Country of Particular Concern for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations. In September, USCIRF released a report on China’s sinicization of religion policy, which is used to justify egregious human rights abuses against religious groups.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan legislative branch agency established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected]

USCIRF Releases Report on Religious Freedom and U.S. Policy in Post-Assad Syria

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following report: 

Religious Freedom and U.S. Policy in Post-Assad Syria – At the end of 2024, over 13 years since the onset of Syria’s protracted civil war, the country’s political landscape dramatically shifted when a coalition of Islamist rebels toppled the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Since then, religious freedom remains under threat from a variety of actors, including loyalists to the transitional authorities, who have targeted civilians with mass sectarian attacks. This policy update provides an overview of religious freedom conditions since the fall of Assad, refining USCIRF’s most recent policy recommendations to the U.S. government to address Syria’s rapidly evolving religious freedom conditions.

In its 2025 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State name Syria to the Special Watch List for state violators of severe abuses of religious freedom, pursuant to the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). In May, a USCIRF Spotlight Podcast episode highlighted ongoing threats to religious communities in post-Assad Syria, and the 2022 Factsheet on Religious Freedom in Syria Under HTS examined the U.S.-designated terrorist group’s abuses of religious freedom in the rebel territory it held before it led the overthrow of the Assad regime. 

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan legislative branch agency established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].